to ask why people don’t reverse in?

[Divorcedalongtime]

to parking spaces…
i know the safest is to reverse in and
drive out, so why do 95% of all cars drive in?
every time I go shopping I see cars desperately trying to get out of their parking bay with cars and walkers going past, whilst if they had reversed in they would get out so easily.

it makes zero sense.

Probably baby because the trolley would run away while you leave it at front of your car while making numerous trips squeezed down the side of your car to get all the bags into the boot🤣. Apart from that people should be grateful I don’t as I’m really bad at it, even with the reversing camera, guidelines on the camera view etc and it takes me an age and would hold up all cross flow traffic for yonks while I had 50 goes at it.

I don't think I have reversed into a bay since driving lessons, but that is because of my own lack of confidence. I know I am being stupid, but I still don't understand why it is easier to reverse into a bay which is confined by lines and other cars beside it, than to reverse out of it into the wider car park, which surely has more room for error. In supermarket car parks especially, I have never had difficulty reversing out of a space.

It takes longer to reverse in , you have to drive past the space and hope the fucker behind you doesn’t drive in, then you have to maneuver all while people are milling around you or the person in the next space returns to their car and starts opening doors and what not
it feels easier just to nab the space and get on with your shopping and deal with the above when you’re done

Can't fit a shopping trolley down between two modern sized cars in 70s sized car parking spaces. I don't want my trolley with all my shopping to roll away and get smashed up by another car, have to pay for their damage and rebuy all my shopping. Simply cannot afford that each week. Much easier to drive in and have the boot accessible and just take my time reversing out.

Exactly this

Can you share those stats?

I can't get a trolley down the side of a normal space.

I don't always get a disabled space.

In that scenario where I'm in a normal space I can't carry the groceries from the front of the car down the side to the boot safely.

So I drive in. Is that ok with you?

@Divorcedalongtime but you haven’t addressed the needing to get the shopping into the boot thing?

I reverse park EVERYWHERE but the supermarket! I can’t open my boot if someone parks too close behind me and then have to leave my full shopping trolley and move my car. That makes no sense at all!

Sorry I didn’t mean it as though you are unable to reverse in.

I just fail to see the logic that it is worse to reverse into a space where there are stationary vehicles compared to reversing out where there are people walking by (often on phones not looking to see if someone is reversing🤦🏼‍♀️), cars driving past and more blind spots.

the Only time I drive into a space is if it’s an end space with nothing next to me. I actually find it easier to reverse park so generally always do so. It’s better for the engine too, when the engine is cold it’s better to drive forwards rather than immediately reverse

Are you my DH??

He gets a right bee in his bonnet about this, has a whole ranty monologue that I’ve heard a hundred times.

He always reverses in to spaces, and most of the time it means I get stuck in a bush trying to get the pram out of the boot.

Have you ever been to a supermarket, op?

Do you only shop for one?

The answer is apparent the first time you come back to your car with the shopping trolley

Reverse into spaces other than the shops tbf, but I don't often drive unless it's to the shops...

I would absolutely love to reverse in to my driveway, but no one ever ever stops or slows down to let me do it. I live on a busy road, cars and pedestrians and super fast cyclists. None of those people ever give even a second to let me manouver in. The cyclists nip up the inside, the cars pretend I'm not there, and the pedestrians don't even notice all the driveways. Everyone is totally oblivious or worse. It's horrible in the dark. It's bad enough reversing out, but at least then it's only me waiting long enough for a big enough gap rather than holding up a load of traffic trying to reverse in.

Is it? I doubt it this is the case in a modern vehicle!

I reverse park, except in the supermarket, because a traffic police mate told me it was always better to be be able to make a fast getaway! So if you have time to reverse park, do so because you won't waste time in an emergency.

Because I’m no good at it!

I’ve noticed - and I’m hugely generalising I know - that men seem to prefer to reverse in (and they faff about doing it too!).

Sure. I’ve had to Google it like you could have done if you were interested enough. 300 deaths and 18000 injuries annually from reversing out of parking spaces. 28% of all accidents involving company cars were caused by drivers reversing out of spaces. I can’t be bothered to Google any more. I was talking from personal experience. My younger brother most of his baby teeth and front adult teeth removed from his gums when he was 7 after being reversed into. He’s had false teeth since he was teenager. My neighbours daughters best friend was killed a few months ago after being reversed into when getting off her school bus. I had a car reverse out of a driveway so close to me that it caught and ripped the raincover off my baby’s pram. And I’ve been on a public bus and had a car cause a crash by reversing into it! They couldn’t see a double decker bus behind it! It’s such a massive problem here I actually think driveways across pavements should be made illegal.

But of course there’s the shopping to think about 🙄

Turning circle is tighter in reverse. Unless a 4WD.

If you can drive in makes sense as easier getting out regardless of what everyone else is up to or what’s happened whilst you were away (idiots parking across the road). Also the boot access.

If you have to reverse to get in, then I do do it sometimes as a last resort but I have had to do trillion point turns at times, and occasionally have just been trapped.

Perhaps they lack the skill/common sense!

Ditto!

Because there's always someone driving up my arse, so if I drive past a space to reverse in they'll be blocking access to the space and refusing to move.

I always reverse because I find it easier. I get all flustered if I have yo go forward into a space, the angles are just less intuitive.

reversing on a cold engine uses more fuel than just driving forwards apparently

It's easier to reverse in because the steerable wheels are at the front of the car, not the back. But in supermarket car parks it's easier to have the boot easily accessible.